


Take on me (take me on)

by Gypsywoman13



Series: I'm Not Strong Enough To Stay Away [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Avenger Bucky Barnes, Avenger Peter Parker, Avengers Family, Bisexual Bucky Barnes, Bisexual Peter Parker, Boys In Love, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Consensual Underage Sex, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gay Sex, Idiots in Love, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Older Man/Younger Man, Oral Sex, Peter Parker Feels, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Post-Recovery Bucky Barnes, Precious Peter Parker, Secrets, Slow Burn, Teen Peter Parker, Underage Kissing, winterspider
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-22
Updated: 2021-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-23 22:13:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30062304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gypsywoman13/pseuds/Gypsywoman13
Summary: After a year of sorting out his mind at the compound, Bucky returns to Brooklyn to find Peter picking up where they left off in their friendship. All goes well, until the heat between them rises and someone breaks...will they run or will they embrace what their friendship has become?----WinterSpider. [Sequel]
Relationships: Avengers Team & James "Bucky" Barnes, James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes & Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Peter Parker, Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov
Series: I'm Not Strong Enough To Stay Away [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2172873
Comments: 15
Kudos: 22





	Take on me (take me on)

**Author's Note:**

> It is here! The sequel! (Damn, this Monday took forever to get here. I'm so impatient for you all to read this that I'm uploading this at midnight...) 
> 
> If you have NOT read the first story [The more I try to stop this, the more I lose control...](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29576793/chapters/72692982) Please read that first! This is NOT a standalone fic.
> 
> Now, I'll ask you to pay close attention to the titles of the first installment, this one and eventually the third, because the words tell you the story just as much as the fic itself. The title for this is from the song "Take On Me". I know the song is originally by A-ha (I grew up on that version), but I do recommend the version by Hidden Citizens since it is the entire mood/emotions for this story. I listened to it on repeat while writing it. Highly suggest you listen to it at least once throughout this sequel.
> 
> Thank you to [Nelalila](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nelalila/pseuds/Nelalila) for Beta reading this story and the one before. If it weren't for you, this series would have never been created or written. I adore you, my friend. <3
> 
> Just like before, read the tags. Look after your own comfort level first and foremost. And with that...enjoy! :D

**May 1 st, 2018**

**One Year after Admittance at Avengers Compound**

Today was the day.

Mr. Stark informed Peter that Bucky would be released from the compound _that day_ , after an entire year away. The whole process of removing the trigger words took longer than expected, but other than that…Peter had no idea what really went on, because Mr. Stark didn’t know how invested the teen was in Bucky’s recovery. No one knew that Peter had the hugest crush on Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier. Except for Ned. Peter couldn’t keep that a secret, otherwise it would have driven him insane. And Ned was already keeping his secret that he was Spider-Man, so what was one more? Though it did involve telling the truth about that time Ned thought he was covering for Peter with Aunt May…

Of course, he’d received an earful from Ned before it switched over to the fact that Peter had his first kiss. That Peter was quite possibly head over heels for the man that kidnapped him and who was much older than him, if they were going by birth date rather than looks. Though, even then, Bucky still looked older. It was hard not being able to talk to Bucky every day. Not that he hadn’t tried to have Karen send Bucky a message, but he quickly found out that all messages went through Mr. Stark first. When asked why he was trying to contact Bucky, Peter quickly responded that he meant to send it to MJ. When asked how Peter got Bucky out of MJ, he was honest and told Mr. Stark that Bucky had been on his mind since he brought him in, before explaining how they both fit in the same thought category...which was concern about their wellbeing. And with Peter wearing his mask, using his A.I., there were no questions about how Peter even had Bucky’s number since it wasn’t a text. A text would have been much harder to explain away.

 _“She has her…um…lady thing…time of month…stuff…and I just wanted to see if she was okay,”_ Peter had said at the time.

There was a bit of teasing from Mr. Stark that Peter really needed to up his game in the flirting department, but later commended him on being emotionally interested in how Michelle was feeling and doing. _“Pep eats that stuff up. So…good for you, Underoos. A for effort and execution. I assume once you sent the message to the right person, it was successful?”_

Peter had blushed pretty hard and couldn’t have been happier that Mr. Stark hadn’t been able to see his face. His stuttering would have been worse in person too, and he _really_ wasn’t the best of liars, despite somehow getting away with a few major ones in the past. Like now, he tried to tell Ned and MJ that he couldn’t hang out after school when asked to go to the movies. “I gotta—I have to meet someone about a tutoring job. It-it’s for this kid whose mom can’t stand anything less than a straight A. So I said I would help,” Peter explained.

MJ raised a brow and pursed her lips in that suspicious way that she did. It never ceased to not bore straight into his soul and make him want to squirm. Finally, she smiled, almost knowingly. “That’s okay, Peter. Maybe tomorrow or something? Depending on how the tutoring schedule goes of course,” she replied.

Peter nodded furiously. “Y-yeah. Of course. Um, I’ll have to check. After all, it is the first meetup…have to see where the problem areas are with learning, and they have to like me…”

“Who wouldn’t like you, Peter?” MJ asked, pinching his cheek jokingly. “You’re adorable. Hiding something…but adorable.”

The two 16 year old’s watched her walk away. Ned exhaled through open lips with relief. “Thank god, that was close.”

“Excuse me? You weren’t the one lying to her face,” Peter said while pulling out his cell phone to check the time.

“Wasn’t I, though? Am I not also a part of this web of lies and secrecy…ooh that sounds ominous…and it is, this whole thing is _very_ ominous—” Ned was starting to get worked up and go on one of his rants, but before he could do that, Peter cut him off.

“Okay, okay. Ned. You’ve proven your point. You are in this too.”

“Yep, I sure am. Now, are you going to head out to see your boyfriend or do you have time to talk about the new LEGO kit coming out next week?” Ned asked. The question was rhetorical, and meant to be a way of Ned telling Peter to get a move on. His friend was right. If Peter didn’t leave now, then he wouldn’t make it to Bucky’s apartment in time to welcome him back…and ask questions, because frankly…Peter had a lot of those.

“He’s _not_ my boyfriend,” Peter defended, glancing around while he clipped on his web shooters.

“Isn’t he?” Ned paused for dramatic effect, before smirking and resting a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Isn’t he?”

Peter shook his head and huffed out of his nose. He told the other teen that he would see him tomorrow, running off to an alley to put his mask on and shoot a line up to launch into the air. It was always the best thing after a long day at school, to be able to swing around the city and let all the tension leave his body. Nothing compared to it. Nothing, except…maybe Bucky. Peter had the apartment location memorized, shooting webs in every direction on autopilot. How could _ever_ he forget where Bucky lived, even when he hadn’t been there for an entire year? Peter had been there enough since they started hanging out, that he couldn’t forget it if he tried. And before he knew it, he was landing on the rooftop.

Should he text Bucky that he was there? That Peter wanted to see him? Was it okay to _see_ Bucky right now? What if Bucky didn’t _want_ to see Peter? His brows furrowed, the mask reacted with the movement as he looked down at his shoes. He didn’t even consider these things. He’d just been so damn excited that Bucky was being released, which meant that he was better…he had to be, otherwise Mr. Stark wouldn’t have let the older man go. Peter’s head perked up and his spine straightened, suddenly feeling that he wasn’t alone. He turned around to discover one Bucky Barnes watching him, casually leaning against an HVAC unit.

“Hey,” Peter smiled, only to frown and quickly remove his mask to try again. So that Bucky could see him better. “Hey…” he blushed awkwardly.

The corners of Bucky’s lips turned up as he tried not to smile. “Should’ve known you would come.”

Peter tucked his mask into the back of his pants, between his shirt and backpack. “We haven’t spoken since…a-and I missed you. So…of course I came.”

He went to move closer and noticed how Bucky seemed to tense slightly at that, but he never said anything. Neither did Bucky walk away. His eyes took in the sight that Bucky now had a left arm. What little he could see of it, underneath the long sleeved Henley, was black with gold inlay between the panels; the craftsmanship was quite breathtaking. Yeah, he vaguely caught a look at the original in Germany, but this…he swore the detailing of muscles in the sleeve were bigger and more defined. The closer he got, the more he wanted to reach out and touch it, but he refrained. Instead, Peter took up a spot beside Bucky, where they both moved to sit on the flat tar coating on the rooftop. From past experience they loved to talk, so sitting was the best option for a long visit.

They sat in relative silence for a good five minutes or so, almost as if they were getting used to each other’s presence again. It was nice. To Peter, it felt that all was right again. A whole year without Bucky hurt more than he thought it ever would. And now that he had him back, beside him…Peter didn’t want to let it go. Peter waited for Bucky to talk, knowing that the man was probably gathering up everything that he wanted to say. Whatever it was, Peter hoped it wasn’t to tell him to stay away. He’d fight tooth and nail. He’d—

“Peter?” Bucky asked, staring at him in confusion and concern.

 _‘Oh, did he say something? Crap…Um…’_ Peter thought.

“Yeah?” he raised a brow and smiled apologetically.

Bucky smiled back. “I’m really glad you are here.”

Peter’s expression turned to shock.

“I know that you probably expected me to push you away, but Janice told me that was the wrong thing to do with people that care about me…that I care about…” Bucky paused, face turning serious, yet determined. “I’m sorry that I had you lie to Tony about what _really_ happened between us. That was extremely shitty of me. I just…I wanted to keep you safe.”

Bucky wanted to keep Peter safe…Those words hit harder than Peter thought they could. “How?”

“What?” Bucky asked, startled.

“I agree…um…that was shitty…but…how did lying keep me safe?”

The older man shifted to bend his left leg, smoothing his cybernetic hand up his thigh to grip his knee. Peter followed the action a little too intently. He knew that he would probably be having wet dreams or fantasies about that hand from here on out. Peter already had some about kissing Bucky, the growls Bucky tended to do when he spoke, and being held against Bucky’s front like that one day…He blinked and licked his lips, finding that he needed to be present for what Bucky had to say. No more imagining and getting hard in his jeans, because right now…he was well on his way to being uncomfortable in them.

“If Tony found out that I was sneaking out while on house arrest to hang out with you...only for it to lead to me kidnapping you…” The silence and weight of it all rested in that moment. Peter practically choked on it, and he could tell that it was hard for Bucky as well. “I was your first big assignment when you became an Avenger, Peter. You told me so yourself. Tony wouldn’t have trusted you anymore to take anything like that or _greater_ on, and I know how much that would’ve killed you. Besides, if Tony found out that you didn’t fight me…that I kissed you…then…”

“He would have _killed you_ ,” Peter exhaled in realization.

What Bucky said made complete sense, because Mr. Stark was like a father to Peter—not just a mentor—and for all of that to be out in the open, it wouldn’t have been pretty. For either of them. Thing was, Bucky wasn’t the only one keeping Peter a secret, but Peter was doing the same in return. Because Mr. Stark wouldn’t be too happy that Peter decided to make a friend out of the Winter Soldier and not tell Mr. Stark. Peter used to tell the billionaire everything, when he wasn’t treating him like a kid. Bucky shouldered the responsibility and blame for something that he thought he made Peter do, when in reality…Peter was his own person and made his own decisions that helped lead them on the path they went down a year ago.

“I’m sorry too…you never—you didn’t _make me_ lie about everything. _You_ didn’t make me lie about our friendship…” Peter apologized.

Peter hadn’t expected for Bucky to apologize and dive right into where they left off. It was only fair if Peter did the same. He could tell that Bucky wanted to protest and be the bad guy, but Bucky wasn’t the bad guy. No one was. They both just wanted to keep each other to themselves and get away from the problems of the world…their lives. Was it smart for—at the time—a 15 year old and a 32 year old to be as close as they were? Probably not. Things happened with a plan or on accident. Peter wouldn’t change the time he’s known Bucky for anything. He would do it all over exactly the same way. All of this he told Bucky.

“You are one of my best friends, Bucky…so, um…don’t take all the fault. Okay? Especially when it isn’t all of yours to take…” Peter paused. “I…I forgive you…for everything. And…I know you didn’t accept my forgiveness then, but…I don’t know…maybe, you can accept it now?” Peter stared at Bucky pleadingly.

Bucky saddened. Peter could tell that Bucky wanted to fight and deny what Peter was saying…what Peter was offering him. But, why would someone say sorry and not want it to all be okay? Peter was about to go more into it, when Bucky gave a curt nod. There was no hiding the bit of moisture building in Bucky’s blue eyes, but they never fell. It was a little thing, and Peter wanted to kiss it better. Any other moment or person, it would have been the time for a kiss. Yet, Peter knew, deep down, that Bucky wouldn’t allow himself to kiss Peter again. He knew Bucky too well. Maybe if Peter were a little braver, he would have just done it instead. Except, Peter was scared _too_. Peter was a minor in the eyes of New York, at least until his birthday in August. Not to mention, Peter would have to show Bucky that they could be together. If that is what they still wanted and yearned for.

But Peter had detoured with his thoughts once again. He really needed to rein himself in and pay attention.

“So, are you going to show me your new arm…or do I have to beg?” Peter asked jokingly. “I-I’m a science nerd, and that is some seriously beautiful machinery you have there.” His eyes widened at what he just said, along with the double meaning of the words, which caused Bucky to burst out laughing. Peter stuttered and stumbled over his stupid tongue to try and explain further.

Bucky’s eyes creased, his smile grew brighter. “Stop. Stop! You’re killing me, Peter.” He waved Peter off before catching his breath and wiping away the happy tears that managed to escape. Slowly, he rolled up his sleeve and spread his fingers, holding it out for Peter to ogle. “There. Happy now?”

Peter shifted, his hands immediately took hold to smooth and explore. The panels calibrated in a ripple, followed by a barely perceptible shaky breath from Bucky’s lips. His eyes shifted to take in the goosebumps on Bucky’s neck. “Do you…uh…feel that?” Peter questioned in awe.

Bucky swallowed hard and nodded. “Yeah.”

“That is _so_ cool.” Peter looked back to keep observing the arm for as long as Bucky let him. If he noticed minimal changes in breathing or the bulge growing in Bucky’s pants, he tried to not let it be known.

Finally, Peter let go and watched Bucky lower the sleeve. “You’ll have to ask Tony how it was made. I don’t remember the jargon he used, but the technology that Tony combined with Shuri’s makes it so then I can feel things. Just like a real hand and arm. I’ve had it for a couple of months now and I’m still not used to it,” Bucky chuckled, running it through his shoulder length hair he’d managed to keep in that year away. Maybe having had only a trim to retain the length. “So, what have you been up to with Ned and MJ? I know you’ve probably been dying to tell me a lot.” Bucky smiled.

Peter lit up. “You have no idea. But…um…do you have the time? Do you want to get something to eat? Oh god! Are you even _allowed_ up here?” Peter looked around in panic.

Bucky had to calm him down, even going so far as to shush Peter with his hand covering Peter’s mouth. They stared at each other, no doubt both remembering the last time Bucky did that. Time seemed to freeze while Bucky removed his hand and sighed. Peter’s eyes followed the man moving to stand, only to follow suit seconds after. “I can leave and pretty much do whatever I want. I still have therapy sessions, but _only_ when _I_ feel like I need them. I can call or video chat too. I don’t always have to go in. Also, no house arrest bracelet or guards, but there is a tracker in my arm.” They both glanced at it. “Tony will only get alerted if I leave the state. Otherwise, my business is my business. Which means, that yes…I’d love to grab a bite to eat with my favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.”

Peter felt like he was lighter than fucking air.

*

It was like Bucky and Peter hadn’t been apart. The only difference was that they hung out more during the day. When Steve asked Bucky where he was going, Bucky told him that he was hanging out with a friend. He didn’t miss the briefest flicker of confusion and pain across Steve’s face, because the two of them hadn’t really hung out as much. So, Bucky took Steve to Coney Island for a day trip to make amends. The memories of being there when Steve was smaller, more fragile, wasn’t jarring as it would have been a year ago. He actually had a really fun time riding the rides with his old pal, walking down memory lane, and just being human. Steve refused to ride the Cyclone and honestly, Bucky didn’t blame him. The ride was older than the rest. Bucky joked that if they rode it the ride might break down from their weight alone. Yes, it was a joke, but he also worried that part of those words could wind up being true.

They spent a majority of the time playing games, eating their fill of hotdogs, and whatever other kinds of food they could get their hands on. When they went on the Ferris Wheel, Bucky admitted that it was nice. Heights should have bothered him, after all, he had fallen from them enough, but there was one good thing about Hydra and that was that they took that out of him before it could even take root. No matter all the healing that happened in therapy, heights were not a big deal. Really, they never were. As they rode to the very top, going round and round a few times before it stopped, he knew that Steve was going to ask things. It was in the man’s nature to be curious and questioning.

“So, who is this _new friend_?” Steve popped a pinch of the cotton candy they were sharing into his mouth.

Bucky shrugged, taking the offered sugary treat and looked at it in a way that made him think of Hamlet. To be, or not to be? He’d been reading any book that he could find, and that was the latest. Peter tried to get him to read some of the sci-fi books he liked, but his whole life was that genre. He was drawn more towards romance, comedy, maybe a little action if they put all three in one package. Bucky could watch sci-fi and all that stuff on a show or movie, but when it came to books, he wanted an escape from all that. From life. Give his brain hopes to dream about, rather than nightmares. Though, he hadn’t had a nightmare in well over two months, which Janice said was very good progress.

He’d be lying if he didn’t think that he was worried that being around Peter again would have brought them back, since the greatest nightmare of all was what he had done to the teen. But they never spoke of it. There was…well…Bucky didn’t know what was going on between them. They were acting like friends again, but there were definitely shared lingering looks and touches that could be construed a certain way. Beyond just friends. Most of the time it was instigated by Peter, and Bucky would find himself reacting. Peter was making it a little hard to control the urges, once again. Except this time, they both knew that they liked each other. That kiss, though completely illegal—and would be if it ever happened again, since Peter was still a minor—had been nice. What Bucky could remember of it…because he did…he remembered every little thing and thought, thanks to that entire year at the compound. Thanks to Janice, Tony, and Shuri.

That was all beside the point…the point was that no matter how much he wanted to kiss Peter, and the moments that kept coming forward for that very opportunity to do so, he couldn’t. It wasn’t right. Minor or not…Peter was still too young. Then, if any of that were true, why had his answer to Steve been what it was?

“Just…a guy,” Bucky replied, nonchalantly.

Steve raised his brows, watching Bucky eat the cotton candy he’d been staring at forever. “ _Just_? Bucky, you’ve been going out almost every day for the past two weeks since you got back. I know it isn’t Eric. Who could you have met so fast?”

Bucky felt somewhat irked at that. What? Steve assumed that he couldn’t find a friend, let alone a date if he wanted, before anyone could blink? He watched Steve try and backpedal from Bucky’s expression he was giving him, but Bucky shook his head in the end. “It’s not like that. I’m not dating the guy, I’m just…hanging out. Talking. Doing normal stuff. It’s completely innocent, Steve.”

Bucky tasted the lie that he’d been trying to tell himself. Turned out speaking it out loud made him very uncomfortable, but he didn’t flinch or move. Nothing. So Steve didn’t notice, and that was all that mattered.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insinuate that it wasn’t. I just haven’t seen you, and we used to do everything together. I’m not used to you not dragging me along to dance halls or on double dates. I’m not used to you not telling me about your day. Hell, you even are more cultured than I am, while I’m still sitting here stuck in the 1940’s,” Steve explained.

“I offered to help you change that. Sam has given you recommendations too. Haven’t those helped?” Bucky asked.

Steve shook his head and sighed, rolling his tongue over the dissolving cloud of sugar in thought. “Kind of, but, Buck…they really aren’t my style. This modern stuff doesn’t make me feel things like what we grew up with. I feel like sometimes I won’t ever adapt…”

And didn’t Bucky know that all too well, but then again, Bucky had always been a quick learner. Always interested in the future and the advancements that technology would bring. It was why he loved the Stark Expo so much…it was why he bothered Tony about seeing his arm as much as he could during the building process. Sure, he didn’t understand any of the terminology, but he wanted to see what made something work. The future was fascinating. Where Steve had been frozen in the ice for all of it, Bucky was let out on occasion to witness it in small bursts. He wasn’t able to appreciate it, not really, but with the return of his memories due to therapy, he could do so now.

“You do know that it is okay to not adapt? It is what makes you who you are, Stevie. Don’t change that or force it if you don’t like it,” Bucky advised. “Take it from someone with extreme personal experience in that area.”

The two friends shared a soft smile and look of understanding, because in the end, no matter what, they would always be there for each other. Two men that were out of time and far removed from all the rest, regardless of outward appearance.

“Thanks, Buck.”

“Anytime.”

Steve and Bucky ate the rest of the cotton candy as the ride continued. When their carriage was next to empty, they exited and tossed the garbage in the trash next to the fence by the line. Despite their heart to heart, Steve still wanted to know who Bucky was talking about. Even asking if he was allowed to meet the guy at some point. Bucky veered off to the side, seeing the bathrooms and the drinking fountain beside it. He bent over to take a few gulps, all while Steve leaned against the brick wall to watch and wait. Steve was like a damn dog with a bone. And here he had just told Steve to be himself…maybe he could convince the man to change at least one thing…

Straightening and licking his lips to collect the last drops of water threatening to escape, he moved out of the way for anyone else that wanted a drink. “I don’t know. It’s really up to him. He’s a private person and can get pretty nervous.” He inhaled deeply and put his metal hand on Steve’s shoulder as they continued to walk towards the exit to the park. “If it makes you feel any better, he is too nice for his own good and makes me shake my head nearly as much as you do.”

“Sounds like you found my clone,” Steve joked.

Bucky snorted and pushed Steve away playfully. “Not even close, punk…but I think…I think you two might actually get along.”

“Oh, well, that is comforting.” Steve moved back to where he’d been, walking beside Bucky before he’d been shoved. “Well, if it means anything…even though I miss my best guy…I’m glad you have someone that you can talk to and hang out with, without worrying about anything.”

 _Even if it’s not me._ Those words were left unsaid, but they hung in between them. Bucky knew that Steve didn’t mean it to hurt…it didn’t mean that it didn’t though.

He’d honestly try to be a better friend to Steve, but Bucky wouldn’t just do it at the expense of what he wanted for himself. He wouldn’t do it because there was an obligation to, and Steve wouldn’t want that. Besides, it wasn’t like Steve didn’t have new friends of his own. Sam, Nat, Tony, and Sharon. The thought of Sharon put a twinkle in Bucky’s eye as he smirked, it was time for him to turn the tables on Steve and find out just what was going on with Miss Carter. However, it turned out that nothing was going on with Sharon Carter, and that one kiss the two shared was just that…a kiss. No, what Steve divulged from further prodding was that there might be something going with a certain red head. Whereas Bucky was a vault, Steve was like Coney Island with the gates wide open and everything. If Steve liked Natasha, then that was good for Bucky. Just as long as she didn’t dig into his business with Peter, like she had done with what happened with Eric, then there would be no problems.

**Author's Note:**

> So, were you expecting it to take place an entire year later, since Peter dropped Bucky off at the compound? What are your thoughts about this chapter? What about predictions for the next chapter/rest of the sequel? I'm curious to know how you all liked it and what you are all thinking.
> 
> Comments and kudos appreciated! <3 <3 <3
> 
> Updates every Monday.


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